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The speed with which Hitler's consolidation of power occurred is rather impressive. Within one year, Hitler the power to rule by decree, shelved most civil rights, and obtained the support of or came to dominate most groups in Germany. The manner in which this occurred is pretty fascinating. The consolidation of power can be said to have benefited from a confluence of effects.

1. Hitler and the Nazi party tended to be underestimated early in the process.

2. Willingness of groups to obtain their immediate goals in exchange for a long-term increase of power for the Nazis (NSDAP).

3. Ability to use the long-standing biases and established hatreds (especially of the Left) for his own ends. This one obviously ties in to the previous two.

To understand the process more fully, we can look at the steps one at a time.

Political Victories

First, the popularity of the NSDAP during the late 1920s and early 1930s is startling. While many point out that "only" 36% of the population voted for the NSDAP in the July 1932 elections, this is an astounding percentage of the votes in a government structured in the way the Weimar Republic was. In fact, only once before, the 1919 elections which were the first of the Weimar Republic, had a party received more of the votes (The SPD won roughly 37% in that election). This suggests that the NSDAP did at least have a large amount of public support for some of their policies.

Second, in the November 1933 election, the NSDAP decreased to 33% of the vote. This decrease llulled some people into a false sense that the NSDAP was in a position in which it could be used. Hence, the Conservative Party (DNVP), of whom President Hindenburg was a member, believed they could use Hitler's popularity by allying with him. They attempted to coopt this popularity by adding Hitler to a DNVP led government. He refused and they instead made him Chancellor but packed his cabinet full of DNVP politicians. This SHOULD have given the DNVP quite a bit of authority over Hitler, but this had the effect of reversing the downward trajectory of the NSDAP because it gave the party the image of success. Hitler had promised that he would be Chancellor and it was given to him. Therefore, even though there were many DNVP politicians in his cabinet, by March 1933, he could dissolve the government and call for new elections. The new elections allowed him to capitalize, although not as much as expected, on his "victory" in January.

With that in mind, let us take a brief aside to discuss the importance of image to the NSDAP. They were masters of image. Goebbels recognized that one did not have to be invincible if one seemed invincible. Victory did not have to be inevitable if it seemed inevitable. People would succumb to the masses if they FELT that the NSDAP was hugely popular. Hence large events, marches, film, and other aspects of mass politics were very important to NSDAP success.

Reichstag Fire Act Whether working with support of a Nazi or working on his on, Marianus van der Lubbe gave Hitler and the NSDAP just what they needed in February 27. The NSDAP didn't have the ability to implement all their plans and the KPD (Communist Party) was a growing power. The buring of the Reichstag allowed Hitler to cast the KPD as conspirators of a governmental overthrow. Hitler issued the "Decree for the Protection of People and State." It declared a state of emergency and suspended civil liberties. It gave the national government power in the states. It was never repealed. It also led to the creation of the lager system (concentration camps).

The decree ultimately did two things to benefit Hitler. The KMD was discredited with many and those who still supported it were arrested or forced underground. It also gave the NSDAP propaganda wing the opportunity to depict Nazi terror actions as a protection against Marxism. In this way the Nazis played upon the fears of communism which existed for many in Germany.

Enabling Act

In spite of all their advantages (no KPD with which to compete, acts of terror, and SA patrolling the voting areas), the NSDAP was only able to capture 43.9 percent of the vote. This demonstrated that although the Nazis had made strides in achieving their goals, they did not have the power, even with their DNVP allies, to completely dismantle the Weimar Republic. They desired to bypass the Reichstag to rule. To do so, however, they needed 2/3 of the votes (The leftist parties had about 30%). Through intimidation of the Catholic Center Party, the Nazis were able to bring the "Law for the Removal of the Distress of People and Reich" to a successful vote when all the moderate and right leaning parties voted for it.

The Catholic Center Party voted with the Nazis for a few reasons. First, the idea of ruling by decree had already been established as an acceptable method of rule. In 1930, Chancellor Bruning had ruled as an unelected Chancellor and had often ruled by Presidential decree, so by 1933, rule by decree was fairly normalized in the minds of most moderates to right leaning people. Second, the Catholic Center Party had become more right leaning and was excessively worried with "godless bolshevism." This made alliance with the NSDAP seem better than an alliance with the left. Third, the Catholic Center Party hoped to gain some sort of influence in the government or at least avoid the fate of the KPD. Finally, Hitler gave his word to respect the Catholic Church and its role in education.

Other parties, believed that the DNVP (through the army and President Hindenburg) could control Hitler.

Upon the passing of the Enabling Act, Hitler had become the LEGAL dictator. This meant that public servants had a responsibility to follow orders. This served as a strong barrier to some who might have otherwise failed to obey orders.

Gleischaltung

The meaning of Gleischaltung is coordination, synchronization, or subordination. The desire among many Germans for a national community purged of divisiveness helped the NSDAP gain control over a number of aspects of national life.

State governments were placed under the control of the national (Reich) government using the Reichstag Fire Act. The SA would stir up "trouble" in the states. A request would then be made for Reich government intervention. Also, on January 30, 1934, a law reorganized Germany in a way that made the state governments, which had formerly held significant power, administrative centers for the Reich government. Additionally the line between Party and government was blurred until there was no difference as the various other parties were declared illegal (following the Enabling Act). The right leaning parties could hardly decry their destruction when they themselves had called for a strong, unified national government.

Control over the civil service was accomplished by enacting laws that purged Communists, Social Democrats, and Jews from the civil service. These laws were played as depoliticization of the civil service. Such depoliticization played on desires for unity over freedom to disagree. Ironically, the Nazis played the sacking of Marxist professors as freedom of speech by claiming that the professors limited the speech of the German people. Universities fell into line. This is where you see the famous book burnings.

The Labor Unions fell under Gleischaltung when the NSDAP held a huge Labor Day (May 1st) rally. The day was declared a holiday. This gesture suggested that the NSDAP (especially Hitler) truly had the workers at heart. The next day, after giving the workers what they had wanted, but had been unable to achieve under the Labor Unions, the leaders of those unions were arrested. The National Labor Front, under party control, replaced the labor unions.

The army, which seemed best located to oppose the Nazis, was in the greatest position to benefit from them. The only fear for the army was being replaced by the SA. This led to Hitler's assault on the SA in 1934. Hitler would slowly gain political control over the Wehrmacht through his foreign policy successes until in 1938, he could cancel out their influence.

The bringing to heel of the SA is an important aspect of Gleischaltung. The SA represented the more radical, in terms of socialist agenda, portion of the Nazis. The SA had desired a Nazi revolution to take power so that the current structures would be abolished. Hitler's legal rise to power had left the established powers in their positions; hence, some in the SA spoke of a "second revolution." This threat to Hitler led to the Night of the Long Knives in which SA leaders, and other opponents of the Nazis, were taken and summarily executed. This satiated the army, who saw the SA as a threat, and the wealthy elites, who feared the socialist tendencies of the SA.

Other areas of life were also coordinated during this period from 1933 to early 1935. Much of this was done voluntarily, although the leaders of opposition groups were often arrested or killed.

TL;DR The Nazis prayed on fear of the Left to gain allies & gave Germans their immediate desires in exchange for long-term power.

If this does not answer your question, or if you have more, please feel free to ask.

Sources:

Spielvogel, Jackson. Hitler and Nazi Germany: A History. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1988.

Stackleberg, Roderick. Hitler's Germany: Origins, Interpretations, Legacies. New York: Routledge, 1999.

Tyrell, Albrecht. "Toward Dictatorship: Germany 1930 to 1934." In The Third Reich, edited by Christian Leitz, 29-48. Malden: Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 1999.